Take action on 'alcopops'

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, April 19, 2006

LOBBYING BY the alcohol industry helped prevent a bill to restrict marketing of alcoholic beverages to underage drinkers (SB1180) from gaining traction in Sacramento. So state Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, the bill's author, revised it to call on the state to conduct a study of the problem by January 2008.

That's a start. But the painfully slow time line shouldn't provide cover for legislators to postpone taking action against a problem among underage drinkers: the consumption of sweetened drinks with seductive names such as Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Silver.

They're misleadingly called "flavored malt beverages," even though a government study found that their so-called distilled spirits "flavorings" make up most of the alcohol in these drinks. That's why critics call them "alcopops."

State Attorney General Bill Lockyer says state law makes it clear that these drinks should be classified as distilled spirits, not beer. As such, they would be subject to higher taxes, which would raise their price and make it less likely minors would buy them. They could also be sold in fewer outlets.

Yet the Alcoholic Beverage Control Department still refuses to reclassify them as distilled spirits. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who says he's worried about the health of young people, should get involved to prevent underage drinkers from buying these drinks as easily or as cheaply as beer.